Tearing and Delaminating of a Polymer Laminate

Abstract:

The fracture behaviour of laminated materials was studied in this work. The materials used in this work were low-density polyethylene (LDPE) laminated on polyethylene (PET). The thickness of the LDPE was 27 µm and the PET was 100 µm. Experiments were performed by using a 2-leg trousers specimen to analyse the tearing behaviour of the laminate in relation to the delamination. A clear delamination zone was observed during the crack propagation by tearing. Furthermore, a finite element calculation was performed to simulate the behavior around the crack tip during the tearing. A correlation between adhesion and crack propagation was discussed. Finally, the theory of Essential Work of Fracture (EWF) was used for predicting the specific total work of fracture along the tear path across the plastic zones.

• Periodical: Key Engineering Materials (Volume 465)
• Pages: 169-174
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/KEM.465.169
• Online since: January 2011
• Authors: Sharon Kao-Walter, M. Walter, A. Dasari, A. Leon
• Keywords: 2-Leg Trousers, Delaminate, Essential Work of Fracture (EWF), Laminates, Tearing

References

[1] ASTM D 1938-93, TEST METHOD FOR TEAR-PROPAGATION RESISTANCE OF PLASTIC FILM AND THIN SHEETING BY A SINGLE-TEAR METHOD Obsolete, ASTM, (1993).

DOI: 10.1520/d1938-94

[2] S. Kao-Walter, P. Ståhle, and R. Hägglund, Fracture toughness of a laminated Composite, in: Fracture of Polymers, Composites and Adhesives II, Elsevier, Oxford, UK, ISBN: 0-08-044195-5, (2002).

DOI: 10.1016/s1566-1369(03)80108-5

[3] S. Kao-Walter, M. Hu, M. Walter, A. Leon, A comparison of 2 - Zone and 3 - Zone Models in Tearing based on Essential Work of Fracture, proceeding in Int. conf. on fracture, ICF12, July, (2009) Ottawa.

[4] P. Ståhle, C. Bjerkén, J. Tryding and S. Kao-Walter, A Strong Toughening Mechanism in an Elastic Plastic Laminate, Proceeding of 28th Riso Int. Symp. On Mater. Sci., Denmark (2007).

[5] S. Kao-Walter, M. Walter, A.B. Muhammadi, Tensile and Tearing Fracture Behaviour of Food Packaging Laminate, the 3rd CHINA-EUROPE Symposium on PROCESSING AND PROPERTIES OF REINFORCED POLYMERS, Budapest, Hungary (2007).

[6] H. S. Kim, J. Karger-Kocsis, Tearing resistance of some co-polyester sheets, Acta Materialia 52(2004) 3123-3133.

DOI: 10.1016/j.actamat.2004.03.013

[7] M. S. Iqbal; A. B. Muhammedi, Tearing Fracture & Microscopic Analysis of Laminate- Towards Sustainable Packaging, BTH-AMT-EX-2007/D-03—SE, TEK/avd. för maskinteknik, Blekinge Inst. of Tech. Sweden, (2007).

[8] S. Kao-Walter, J. Dahlström, T. Karlsson, and A. Magnusson, A study of the relation between the mechanical properties and the adhesion level in a laminated packaging material, in: Mechanics of Composite Materials, Vol. 40, No. 1, (2004).

DOI: 10.1023/b:mocm.0000018461.38986.7d

[9] Information on http: /www. matweb. com/ Mat Web Material property data.

[10] Y. -W. Mai, B. Cotterell, R. Horlyck, G. Vigna, The essential work of plane stress ductile fracture of linear polyethylenes. In: Polym. Engng. Sci., 27, (1987) p.804–809.

DOI: 10.1002/pen.760271106

[11] Information on http: /abaqus. civil. uwa. edu. au: 2080/v6. 7.

[12] H. Zhao, R. K.Y. Li, Fracture behaviour of poly(ether ether ketone) films with different thicknesses, Mechanics of Materials, 38 (2006) 100–110.

DOI: 10.1016/j.mechmat.2005.05.013